To most people, getting bumped means you do not get to board. Not being allowed on because of this reason is a common thing.
No, getting on the plane, finding your seat, putting you bag in the overhead, sitting down and then buckling in is pretty much beyond the bumping stage. That’s my argument. He wasn’t bumped as he was already on. They screwed up when they let all the passengers get seated.
If I had made it this far, and they told me I had to now get off without just compensation, I think I would pitch a fit, too. Now, if they offered me more money and a guaranteed flight first thing in the AM plus a nice hotel room and dinner + breakfast, I would probably take the deal. Dao should have negotiated a better deal, rather than make them force him off.
Still, they’ll now wind up paying him a lot of cash. That prediction is not based on emotion, but just where I see this going.
That would be where United screwed up. At no point have I said United was without fault. Their actions were legal, but stupid. Both parties handled this as poorly as humanly possible.
They’ll probably wind up paying him out of court because in the end winning in court is bad PR. It’ll bring this whole thing back up again years after it’s been forgotten, and nobody sympathizes with big companies so when they do win in court that very act generates ill will. It’s kind of sad this guy is gonna get a fat check for acting like a baby, but that’s how it goes.
Which is exactly why UAL has changed their crew scheduling rules that a dead-heading crew member needs to be at the gate at least 60 minutes prior to departure.
Dao had to see patients at the hospital at 8am the next morning. He faced professional repercussions if he failed to make his rounds.
If they tell you you must get off (and this is against your wishes), they MUST compenstate you in addition to getting you on the next flight with available seats. For an overnight, the compenstation is 400% of the fare value (in the form of a check) or $1350, whichever is less. That is in addition to getting you there, and if you want, you can demand ane will get an "involuntary refund" for the price of your fare.
Once you are in that "involuntary" stage, you are in the driver's seat in negotiating with the airline.
-- Still, they'll now wind up paying him a lot of cash. --
I bet they pay their lawyers more to defend this case, than they end up paying Dao.